Poet Profile

John Pappas

John Pappas is a poet and teacher whose work has appeared in Handsome, Frogpond, Modern Haiku, cold moon journal, Failed Haiku, Nick Virgilio's Haiku in Action, tiny words, Presence, The Mainichi, bottle rockets and many other journals. His haiku have been included in the anthologies Seed Packets: An Anthology of Flower Haiku and the forthcoming Bird Whistle: An Anthology of Contemporary Bird Haiku (bottle rockets press), and his poetry has twice been selected for the Mayor of Boston's Poetry Contest (2016 and 2020). He has been nominated for a Touchstone Award. As drummer and lyricist of the punk rock band Heather Hates You, he has recorded two albums: Operation Suckerpunch (2003) and A Scar is Born (2006). A graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and the Boston College Graduate School of Education, John lives in Boston, MA with his wife and two daughters and has taught literature and general semantics in the Boston area for over 25 years.

Awards and Other Honors:

Mayor of Boston’s Poetry Contest 2016; Mayor of Boston’s Poetry Contest 2020; Touchstone Award Nomination 2022; Winner, Third Prize in 2022 Autumn Moon Haiku Contest; “the hermit thrush”, Winner, 2023 Trailblazer Contest; “wisteria blooms”, honorable mention, 2023 Japan Fair US Contest; “pear blossoms”, selected as a Highly Commended poem in the 8th Annual H. Gene Murtha Senryu Contest (2023); “tickling”, selected as a runner-up in the Seventh International Haiku Contest by the Bulgarian Haiku Union (Bulgaria, 2023).

Books Published:

Work Anthologised: Seed Packets: An Anthology of Flower Haiku (bottle rockets press, 2010); forthcoming Bird Whistle: An Anthology of Contemporary Bird Haiku (bottle rockets press).

weight 
of my conscience
plodding whelk

emerald green
the hummingbird
in the cat’s eye

early morning mizzle the still warm embers hiss

mule deer slowly leaving her bones behind

stumbling on
the rabbit’s bones―
the ache in mine

rolling the limes
before juicing
summer rain

Credits:

“weight” - Wales Haiku, Summer 2022; “emerald green” - Nick Virgilio Haiku in Action, July 16, 2021; “early morning “ - Frogpond vol. 45.3, Autumn 2022; “mule deer“ - whiptail issue 4, August 2022; “stumbling on” - Frogpond vol. 35:3, Autumn 2012; “rolling the limes” - Kingfisher issue #6, Fall 2022.